Great Horned Owl family found dead by local farmer

Mystery surrounds the death of a Great Horned Owl family that happened last week, with the recent avian flu outbreak potentially to blame.

Local farmer Walt Strand found two adult and two juvenile Great Horned Owls deceased at his farm east of Lethbridge on May 6. Managing director of the Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation, Colin Weir, said he has been receiving calls from farmers and ranchers across southern Alberta about the deaths of owls. 

“They’re pretty distraught and upset having these owls die, sometimes in their arms,” said Weir.

Weir explained that the recent outbreak of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is likely to blame for the deaths of owls in the province. He described how waterfowl that contract the disease and then pass away can pass on HPAI.

“If they were to eat a dead duck [with HPAI], they would actually contract this avian influenza and die themselves,” said Weir.

According to information on the Government of Alberta website, in late 2021 a HPAI, known as the H5N1 strain, was detected across Canada in domestic and wild birds. Significant mortality was documented in domestic poultry in some maritime provinces. A similar H5N1 was detected in a few wild waterfowl in the same local areas after an increase in surveillance. Federal and provincial disease control programs were activated to control the outbreaks in domestic birds.

Strand said the owls were around for a couple of months before he found them deceased while mowing his lawn last Friday. He claims they helped keep his rodent populations down and was sad to see how close the young owls were to reaching adulthood.

“Give them another two weeks and they would have been able to fly away,” said Strand.

Strand alleges the owls may have been killed not by the avian influenza but by a pair of geese that have claimed his farm yard as “their territory” although he never witnessed the attack take place. Weir says it is unlikely that the owls were killed by aggressive geese.